- A JetBlue passenger opened an emergency exit on a taxiway in Boston, the FAA said.
- One witness said that the man was arguing with his girlfriend before the incident.
- A pilot told air traffic control that the passenger was subdued by an officer on board.
A JetBlue passenger delayed his fellow travelers after opening one of the plane’s emergency exit doors.
The incident occurred while Flight 161 was preparing to take off from Boston Logan International Airport on Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
It added that the Airbus A320, heading to Puerto Rico, was on a taxiway when the passenger opened an emergency exit. This also caused the slide to deploy.
Fred Wynn, a passenger on the plane, told local CBS outlet WBZ-TV that he was sat just in front of the man and his girlfriend.
“Boyfriend and girlfriend were arguing behind in me,” Wynn said. “Boyfriend got mad, got up walked down the center aisle, grabbed the emergency door, ripped it off, completely off.”
He added that the man was handcuffed by an FBI agent before state police boarded the plane and escorted him away.
In an audio recording archived by LiveATC.net, one of the pilots tells air traffic control a law enforcement officer subdued the passenger.
“I can hear all the passengers screaming. Looks like they tried to grab him before he went out,” he added.
Data from Flightradar24 shows that the flight took off almost three hours later than scheduled and landed in San Juan at 3:17 a.m. local time.
Passengers on other flights told WBZ-TV that they were also delayed because the runway was temporarily disabled since the slide was deployed.
According to FlightAware data, 95 flights, or around 17%, were delayed at Logan Airport throughout the day.
Massachusetts State Police told CBS that one person was detained after the incident.
“Shortly before takeoff, a passenger who wanted to deplane opened an aircraft door suddenly and without warning,” state police said. “Other passengers restrained the individual until troopers arrived on scene to detain them for further questioning.”
JetBlue and the Massachusetts State Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by Business Insider outside US working hours.
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